Water-gap gate.



A. SATTLER.

WATER GAP GATE.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 7, 1912.

1,072,778. Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

A. SATTLER.

WATER GAP GATE.

APPLICATION NLED 00T. 7, 1912.

1,072,778, v Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

'"M'IIMIIIII [iLife/allor MM f COLUMBIA PLA'NoaRAPH co., WASHINGTON, DA c,

UNITED PATENT OFFICE.

ADOLPI-I SATTLER, OF LANGE, TEXAS.

WATER-GAP GATE.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description vof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to water gap gates,

that is to say to gates or fence closures ar-v rangedacross a stream, creek orfravine and serving as a barrier to prevent cattle or stock from wandering along the stream or gap. Y

In case ofjheavy rains or'freshets, the

force of the water and impact of timber, which often drifts down stream, is apt to.

wash away the barrier or seriously injure the same, rendering it necessary to reconstruct or repair it and endangering the loss of cattle or stock until this is do-ne.

It is the object of this invention to prevent injury to the barrier or gate, thereby saving the trouble and expense of repairs or reconstruction and at the same time removing the danger of cattle or vstock, escaping when the stream is swollen. To this end the anchorage of the gate, fence or barrier in the bed of the stream or gap` will be automatically released by unusual force of water flowing over said bed,.and as soon as released, the barrier will be automatically raised to a position at or near the surface of the swollen stream where it is not liable to be struck by drifting timber and yet is in position to prevent the escape of cattle or stock along or within wading distance of the bank.

The invention will be hereinafter rst fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and then pointed out in the claims at the end of the description. y

In the drawings: Figure l is a side elevation of a gate or barrier constructed substantially in accordance with this invention, the same being shown as it appearsinits normal position lookingup stream, and the bed of the stream ori gap and portions of both banks thereof being shown in section. Fig. 2 isa plan view of the showing in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of the anchoring device in itsk normal locked position. f Fig. t is a broken vertical sectionon the line i- 4 of Fig. 1 looking in the' direc- Vraten-tes.' sept. 9, 191e. Application led October 7, 1912. Serial No. 724,403.

tion of the arrow. Fig. 5 is a view taken similarly to Fig. l but illustrating the raised position of the gate or barrier, and Eig. 6 is a detail plan View of the anchoring device in its released position.

cated at B. On lthe left hand bank A, as

shown in Figs. 1, 2 and y5, there is mounted an angular frame or derrick C suitably fulcrumed, as at c, and preferably consisting of two vlever arms c and@2 extendingl sub'- stantially at right angles `to each other and at opposite sidesof the fulcrum, a brace or cross-bar 03 and a lweight D secured to the end of the lever arm c at the side of the fulcrum away from the. stream. `As illustrated, the lever armsand cross-bar or brace may each consist of two bars or members which may be spaced apart in order to provide a better support for the'weight and prevent lateral play of the frame.

. The bars or members of the lever arm c are preferably spread well apart from the fulcrum to the end where the weight is attached. The bars or members of the lever c2 may converge toward the juncture of said Referring to the drawings vby lettersof' reference, A and A designate the banks ofk a stream or gap, the bed of* which Vis indi-k lever and the brace c3, the bars or members of thev latter also converging in the same way. The end of the lever arm c2 may be supported in normal position upon a standard E located near the edge of the bank.

`To the end of this lever arm, one end of the gate or barrier F is attached in any suitable manner, as by a loop of wire G. -0n the other bank A there is erected another standardEhaving a lug or projection e adapted to be engaged by a link L, or its equivalent, attached to the right-hand end of the gate or barrier in any suitable manner as .by a loop of wire I-I.v The link L is also connected, preferably by a'ieXible connection, such as the wire K, with the bank. As shown, this flexible connection-K is secured to the top of another standard in order to support the gate well abovethe bank when said gate is raised.

TheV gate or barrier F may consist of a plurality of uprights or posts fand a series of wires f strung between them. One of the posts is provided on ornear its lower end with an eye or loop f2 which normally engages or is hooked under an anchoring be provided with tle eye or loop f2 and theV other two be arranged-respectively at or near the `edges of the opposite banks.` In cas-e a larger number of posts are required, it may be desirable to anchor more than one of them, whichcan readily be done by duplicating the anchoring device shown and described in connectionV with the' middle post of the illustrated example of the invention. i l

The eye or loop f2 is normally retained in engagement with the anchoring kpin by a locking device which isV adapted to be automatically actuated to releas-e said eye or loop when the force of the current is increased byheavy. rains or freshets -to such an extent as to endangerthe gate. As illus trated, this locking devicey consists of a jointed strip M preferably in' three sections fm, m and m2 hinged end to end. The free end of the section m is pivoted to a iixture, the anchor plate for instance, as at N. Thisxed pivot is preferably on the upstream side of the gate and in line .with the anchoring lug in the direction the current flows. The intermediate section m of the strip normally extends across the loop or eye on the down-stream side of the gate, and rests upon the protruding end of the an-` choring lug, the other section m2 normally extends up-stream. 0n the free end of said sect-ion m2 is mounted a wing or plate P Y presented to the impact of the current which, however, is normally insuflicient to dislodge it. When the force of the current is increasedby heavy rains Yor freshets, it acts upon said plate or wing to move the locking device or strip M to the position illustrated in F ig. 6 for releasing the loop or eye. It will bekobserved that the section m2 'of the locking strip is prevented from being moved to the wrong side of the-anchoring lug by a stop R which normally holds said section' in a position where it is inclinedtoward that side of the anchoring pin to which it must swing in order to release the eye or loop. n

The operation ofA the device will be readily understood from the foregoing descrip tion taken in conjunction Vwith the drawings. The normal positions of the parts being as shown in Figs. v1, 2 and 3, whenthe locking devicev is released by an unusual force of current, as just'explained, said current, acting in the direction in which the anchoring lug extends, will push the eye or loop f2 ofi" of said lug, whereupon they weighted frame or derrick C will a'utomatically raise the gate orbarrier clear of the stream, the upward lift of said gate or barrier disengaging the link 7L from the projection e so that the flexible connection K is extended, as illustrated in Fig. 5. The length of the arm c2 of the frame or derrick C, as well as the height of the Standard 7c governs the distance the gate is raised above the banks, and said distance may, therefore, be varied by changing the length Aof said arm 02, Vthe height of said standard la, or both. When the freshet subsides, the gate or barrier may be quickly and easily adjusted again to normal position by depressing the arm c2 of the frame or derrick, connecting the loop or eye on the intermediate post of the gate to the anchoring pin, adjusting the l'ocking device to the position shown in Figs. l, 2 and?) so as to secure said eye or loop on said anchoring pin, and attaching the link z. to the projection e.

Having thus described'my/invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

l. The combination with a gate, of means to anchor the same, a pivot-edframe having arms extending at anjangleto each other and at opposite sides of its fulcrum, one of said arms being connected to one end Vof the gate and normally arranged in a lowered position, and the other arm being weighted and normally arranged in a raised position, whereby Y the gatel will be automatically raised when released from its anchorage and means for securing the other end of the gate adapted to be automatically disconnected when the gate is raised.

2. The combination with a gate, of means to anchor the same, a pivoted frame having arms extending substantially at right angles to each other'and'at `opposite sides of its fulcrum, oneof said arms being connected to the gate and the other arm being weighted, and means` to normally support the arm which is attached to the gate in a lowered but slightly inclined position, whereby the weighted arm is inclined to the vertical and is adapted to automatically raise the gate when released from its anchorage.

3. The combination with a water gap gate consisting of a plurality ofposts anda series of wires strung between them, of meansfor detachabiy anchoring one of the posts down inthe bed of the gap, and means for fastening .the end posts upon the banks of the gap, wherebythe anchored post may rise to the level of the end posts 'when the former is released from its anchorage.

4. The combination with a gate, of means to anchor the same, a. pivoted frame having arms extending at an angle to each other and at opposite sides of its fulcrum, one of said arms being connected to one end of the gate and the other arm being weighted, means to normally support the arm which is attached to the gate in a lowered but slightly inclined position, whereby the weighted arm is inclined to the vertical and is adapted to automatically raise the gate when released fro` its anchorage, and means for securing the other end of the gate adapted to beautema-tically disconnect/ed when the gate is raised.

5. The combination with a gate, of means to anchor the same, and a pivoted frame having arms extending substantiallyat right yangles to each other and at opposite sides of `and of the arm which is connected to the gate converging toward their juncture.

6. The combination with a gate, of means to anchor the same, means connected to one end of'the gate for automatically raising the same when released from its anchorage,

and means for securing the other end of the gate, said latter means adapted to be automatically disconnected when the gate is raised. f

7. The combination with a gate,'of means to anchor the same, means connected to one end of the gate for automatically raising the same when released from its anchorage means for securing the other end oit' the gate, said latter means adapted to be automatically disconnected when the gate is raised, and a flexible connection between a fixture and the end oi the gate having said securing means 'for 'the purpose speciied.

S. The combination with a gate, of means to anchor the same, means connected to onev end of the gate for automatically raising the same when released from its anchorage, a. vertical fixed lug near the other end of said gate, and a link secured to the gate and 'adapted to engage said lug when said gate is anchored and be automatically disconnected therefrom when the gate is released from its anchorage. n

9. The combination with a gate, of means to anchor the same, a vertical fixed lug near one end of said gate, a link secured to the gate and adapted to engage said lug when said gate is anchored, and means for automatically raising the gate, when released from its anchorage, above the level of the top of said lug, whereby said link is automatically disconnected from the lug as the gate is raised. y

10. The combination with a gate, of means to anchor the same, a vertical fixed lug near one end of` said gate, a link secured to the gate and adapted to engage said lug when said gate is anchored, and means for autos matically raising the gate, when released from its anchorage, above the level of the top of said lug, whereby said link is automatically disconnected from the lug as the gate is raised, and a flexible connection between said link and a iixture ror supporting said gate in its raised position.

i ll. A water gap gate comprising a series of wires spaced apart with means at each end, and at an intermediate point for holding said wires in separated relation and adapting the gate to span a depression or water gap with. its ends elevated and its center lowered, means for securing the lowered intermediate portion of the gate in a fixed position under normal conditions and for holding its ends upright while so secured, and means actuated by the force of an abnormal current for releasing said securing means, together with means or automatically raising the gate when said securing means is released.

12. A water gap gate comprising a series of n supports having iiexible connections there-between, the end supports of the series being adapted to be supported on the banks of the gap, and an intermediate support detachably connected in the bed of the stream, means for automatically releasing said intermediate support, together with rmeans for automatically raising said gate when said intermediate support is released.

13. The combination with a water gaprk kadapted to be normally engaged by said loop, means for normally locking said loop on said pin, said means adapted to beautematically actuated by the current to release the gate when said current becomes strong enough to endanger the gate, and means for automatically raising said gate when said loop is released from said anchoring pin.

l5. The combination with a water gap gate having a loop, of an anchoring pin adapted to be normally engaged by said loop, and means for normally locking said loop on said pin, said means including a plate Vdisposed to receive the impact of the current for automatically releasing said locking means when the current becomes strong enough to endanger the gate.

16. The combination with a water gap gate having a loop, of an anchoring pin adapted to be normally engagedby said loop, means for normally locking said loop on gate having a loop, of an anchoring pin extending in the direction of the current and y adapted to be normally engaged by said loop, a locking device comprising a sectional jointed strip having one end secured to a iixture on the up-stream side of the gate, said sectional strip normally extending around the loop on the down-stream side ot' the gate, and a plate carried by said strip and disposed to receive the impact of the current for disengaging said strip from the loop when said current becomes strong enough to endanger the gate.

18. The combination With a Water gap gate having a loop, of an anchoring pin extending in the direction of the current and adapted to be normally engaged by said loop, a locking device comprising aV sectional jointed strip having`one end secured to a fixture on the 11p-stream side of the gate, said sectional strip normally extending around the loop on the down-stream side of thefgate, a plate carried by said strip and fixture onthe up-stream side of the gate, the intermediate section of said strip normally extending across the loop on the down-Stream side of the gate, and the free end section normally extending toward the rip-stream side and also being slightly inclined tovvard the course it niust take torelease the loop, a stop for normally holding said end-section in the inclined position in-k dicated, and a plate carried by said end. section and disposed to receive the impact. of the current for disengaging said strip from said loep when said current ybecomes suliciently strong to endanger the gate.V

20. The combination With va Water gap gate having a loop, of an anchoring pin extending in the direction of the current and adapted to be normally engaged by said fixture en the tip-stream side of the gate, the

intermediate section of said strip normally extending across the loop on the dovvnn stream side of the gate, andthe free end section normally extending toward the up'- stream side and also being slightly inclined Y toWard the course it must take to release the loop, a stop for normally holding said end section in the inclined position indicated, a plate carried by said end section and disposed to receive the impact of the current for disengaging said strip from said loop when said'current becomes suiicient-ly strong ADOLPH SATTLER.

Vitnesses ALB KUSENBERGER, HERMAN Usnunn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents' each, by addressing'tlie Commissioner of Patents,

` Washington, D. C. 

